Des Moines Sun

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to address issues related to the tracking and enforcement of parole expirations for noncitizens. This request comes after a July 2025 report from the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that, under current policies, individuals could remain in the United States unlawfully after their parole expired without facing enforcement actions. The report noted that more than 61,400 parolee visas expired between November 2024 and February 2025.

“The OIG found that multiple Biden-DHS components – including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – failed to uphold their respective responsibilities under federal law and executive policy for tracking and enforcing parole expirations,” Grassley wrote.

The OIG report highlighted several failures:

- CBP did not track parole expirations despite being required by Congress to provide data on overstays.

- USCIS lacked a centralized system to monitor when paroles ended.

- ICE was not informed by CBP or USCIS about the entry of parolees into the country, nor did it automatically treat them as removable once their parole period ended.

Grassley urged implementation of three recommendations from the OIG: assigning a specific DHS office to oversee parole expiration tracking; creating a process to identify individuals no longer authorized to stay in the country; and ensuring ICE receives accurate, timely information about these cases.

In previous correspondence dating back to October 2023, Grassley raised concerns with then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about shortcomings in vetting individuals paroled through the CBP One mobile app. He followed up in June 2024 regarding Afghan evacuees brought into the United States after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, emphasizing gaps in identification, screening procedures, and communication among agencies. In August 2024, he expressed concern over waived interviews and fingerprinting requirements that limited agents’ ability to flag individuals needing further review. Later that year, he contacted DHS again after learning that some noncitizens entered without proper identity verification—a situation followed by an arrest connected to an alleged Election Day terrorist plot.

Grassley continues pressing federal agencies such as the FBI for answers regarding Afghan evacuee vetting procedures. He has also introduced legislation aimed at reforming immigration parole practices and strengthening enforcement of expiration rules.